


maybe we should kiss to break the tension

by venterno



Category: Star Trek, iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: M/M, bobby is an engineer covered in grease, double b star trek au, hanbin is sleep-deprived and bobby is handsome, hanbin is the chief engineering officer, kyungsoo is there but only in name because hes my qpp and thats valid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 16:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15585747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venterno/pseuds/venterno
Summary: chief engineering officer kim hanbin of the krr lumi loses an unconscionable amount of sleep over a problem that even he can't figure out. enter aya III engineer kim jiwon in a grease-smeared jumpsuit here to save the day (and hopefully get hanbin's number)





	maybe we should kiss to break the tension

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this a year ago from a prompt generator and just finished the ending a couple of days ago because i obtained the will to do so via serotonin and no work plus its kinda cute! !! in this house we love putting double b in space and making them fix things together
> 
> as always thank u to emily my gf my dwayne the rock johnson for being the first to read this and validating me

He’s going mad. He’s really, truly losing his mind. What’s that saying? “Maybe you should sleep on it”? Or is it a phrase? Oh god, who cares. He would sleep on _anything_ right now: a rock, a sea of lava, perhaps even a nice, thickly padded mattress. Alright, maybe that’s not how it works. The point is: he’s tired. Kim Hanbin, Master of Sleepless Nights, of operating off of two minutes of sleep is _tired_. Maybe at this point he should say exhausted, but he hasn’t seen black spots for at least two hours so maybe the situation doesn’t warrant it anymore.

He’s been working on the KRR Lumi’s phaser banks for longer than he’d like to admit. The ship’s been docked for a week because of mechanical failures, a fact he as the Chief Engineering Officer takes personally and has resolved to fix as fast as he possibly can. The phaser banks started to malfunction three and a half years into the ship’s five year journey, forcing an emergency docking at the nearest Starfleet station Aya III. A chill goes down Hanbin’s spine as he remembers Captain Do’s blank expression when the time came to dock. The captain left him at the port with a terse “get it done”, motivation enough to power through as many sleepless nights as it took to get the banks repaired.

Yet, Kim Hanbin - first in his class at the Starfleet Engineering Academy, most desired cadet of the 3018 graduating class - was stumped. No matter how many times he stared at the phaser bank’s schematics or reworked the math, he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It was like a saboteur shifted something so miniscule that not even a detailed-obsessed maniac like Hanbin could figure out what was off. As much as he hated to admit it, he might have to...oh, god... He might have to ask for...help. Just the thought of making it known he couldn’t solve something as simple as what was wrong with the damn phaser bank (okay, maybe it wasn’t that simple) was extremely embarrassing. It was absolutely horrifying to even think about asking one of the engineers on Aya III to help. Not to be cocky, but what could someone assigned to a station in the middle of nowhere offer the chief engineer of one of the best ships in the fleet?

 

* * *

 

Hanbin finally breaks down on the eighth day at port, sending his crew to scour the place for any engineer worth their stuff. In the meantime, he decides to take a break, walking the perimeter of the station to clear his mind. He isn't really paying attention to his surroundings, eyes glued to the view outside of the exterior glass wall. Suddenly, he collides with someone, causing whatever they’re carrying to scatter across the hallway in a metallic crash. He reacts immediately, apologies falling from his lips as he kneels down to help them gather their things: a bunch of tools scattered everywhere. So that was the sound he heard. Why did they have so many tools?

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going. It’s completely my fault-” He’s cut off in his effort to apologize by a laugh. Surprised, he looks up at the other person, confronted with a grease-smeared boy with wild hair sitting calmly across from him. “What’s so funny?” He asks, brows furrowed and a pout forming on his lips.

“Nothing. You’re just really cute.” The other boy says nonchalantly, leaning back on his hands. He looks about Hanbin’s age, regulation jumpsuit reading “Kim, J”.

Hanbin feels his face nearly explode with the force of the blush burning across his cheeks. He focuses again on gathering the tools up into a pile in front of the other boy instead of replying. He can feel his eyes on him.

“If you can’t tell from the mess, I’m an engineer here on Aya III. Name’s Kim Jiwon. Who are you?” The boy’s language remains casual, his curiosity showing itself only in the tilt of his head. Not that Hanbin can see it, because he’s not looking. Definitely not.

Hanbin clears his throat before replying, not trusting his voice. He meets Jiwon’s eyes as he replies, forcing his voice steady. “Kim Hanbin. Chief Engineering Officer on the KRR Lumi.”

Jiwon’s eyebrows raise comically high for a quick second before he looks away, scratching his head. “Wow. I’m embarrassed.” He laughs, shaking his head in disbelief at himself before standing. “You’re literally one of the highest ranking officers on the station right now and I just called you cute like it was nothing.” He offers a hand to Hanbin who takes it before looking away, his blush coming back as he stands, dusting himself off. Jiwon bows in deference, head dipping past Hanbin’s chest as he apologizes. “Please forgive me, Officer Kim. I will accept any consequences as a result of my unprofessional behavior.”

Surprised by Jiwon’s sincerity after such a forgettable remark, Hanbin is shocked into stillness. “It’s...fine. Really. Just don’t make a habit of it. For the sake of professionalism and all that.” Jiwon flashes him a smile as he straightens up, smoothing a hand over his nest of hair. An idea suddenly strikes Hanbin. “Hey, do you know anything about phaser banks?”

Jiwon laughs, pretending to seriously consider the question before answering. “Yeah, a little.”

 

* * *

 

It turns out Jiwon is somewhat of a specialist. He looks at the phaser banks for two minutes tops before he’s popping the casing on one off, mumbling to himself. Hanbin follows close behind, bumping into the other boy’s back when he stops suddenly. Jiwon turns, stepping around a frozen Hanbin to retrieve one of his tools.

“Sorry,” Hanbin mumbles, stepping to the other side of the bank. Jiwon steps the same way, laughing at Hanbin’s embarrassed expression. They dance around each other for a moment before Hanbin sighs, face burning.

“Okay, don’t move. I’m going to the other side.” He says, trying to sound authoritative.

Jiwon smiles broadly at him, freezing in a goofy pose as Hanbin moves to the side opposite him. He tries not to laugh, really he does, but he can’t help himself as Jiwon remains frozen, eyeing Hanbin like he’s waiting for his permission to move again. Hanbin raises an eyebrow, forcing a hopefully very blank expression devoid of the amusement he feels as a result of Jiwon’s antics.

“As you were.” Hanbin quips.

Jiwon tries to hide a small smile as he ducks his head, setting to work on the bank. He cuts a fine line across the top half, removing it carefully. Hanbin is horrified at what he sees inside: a mess of colors signaling a dangerous imbalance. He swears to himself, beginning to pace the length of the bank terminal. He swears he looked inside the banks not even two days ago. What changed since then? What was he missing? He snaps out of his reverie, rushing back over to see Jiwon half inside of the bank itself.

“What are you doing?” Hanbin asks, slightly panicked. One wrong move and Jiwon could kill them both.

Jiwon doesn’t respond, his face turned toward the ceiling, brows furrowed in concentration. He’s elbow deep in the bank, hands out of sight.

“Oddly enough, these new class E phaser banks fall out of alignment sometimes. There’s too much space on the sides of the warp core connector, so they fall out of place, causing the imbalance you saw. It’s really weird since they’re basically brand new, but I’ve seen it happen more than I’m actually comfortable with. There. Got it.” A clicking noise emits from the bank, the mess of colors now melting into a more serene blue as Jiwon stands up straight. “It’s a weird phenomenon, it’s not your fault you didn’t catch it.”

Hanbin just stands there, shock twisting his expression. “So, you’re telling me...all E class starships have a mechanical flaw that threatens the welfare of their crews every day they fly? And no one knows but you?”

Jiwon shrugs before nodding. “Yeah. I guess that’s what I’m saying. It’s an easy fix, so I wasn’t too excited about telling anyone the first couple of times I had to deal with it. Besides, you can eject these things if you’re in a sticky situation.”

Hanbin begins to laugh, his exhaustion suddenly catching up to him in that moment. The laughing soon becomes hysterical, his eyes beginning to tear up. Jiwon looks at him in shock, watching the other boy fall into a defeated squat.

“Are...are you okay?” Jiwon approaches the other, placing a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

Hanbin’s shoulders shake with the effort to stop laughing hysterically. He wipes his eyes, sniffling as he replies. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just haven’t slept in eight days because of a flaw that I never could have known about. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Jiwon’s brow furrows as he sits across from Hanbin on the floor, leaning back on his hands. “Eight days? That’s some dedication right there. No wonder you look like hell.”

Hanbin scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Wow, thanks. Is that the way you talk to all of the boys?”

Jiwon smirks at him, holding his gaze steadily as he answers. “Nope. Just you.”

Hanbin loses his balance, falling into his knees. He curses under his breath, feeling his cheeks heat up again. Why did he keep blushing?

Jiwon laughs at him, softly — fondly. “You okay over there?”

Hanbin groans, using his hands to steady himself. He gives up, finally sitting on his backside and stretching his legs out in front of himself. “I’m fine. I need at least 48 consecutive hours of sleep, but I’m fine.” He looks up to see Jiwon still staring at him, a weird look in his eyes. The other engineer smiles at him, putting a hand on Hanbin’s ankle. Hanbin feels his eyes widen slightly, the heat of Jiwon’s touch sending a shock throughout his entire body.

“How about you catch up on that sleep, and then call me?” Jiwon says, his hand steady on Hanbin’s ankle. “I would say let’s go get a drink right now, but you look like you’ll pass out any second.”

Hanbin looks from Jiwon’s face, to his hand on his ankle, to his face, and back. Was this really happening? To him, of all people? After probably two hours of sleep in eight days? Right now? Really? Curse all of the known gods in every universe for forsaking him. Three and a half dry years, and now he meets someone who he actually might like, and he’s _exhausted_. He lets his eyes travel up from Jiwon’s hand, to his arm, along his chest, his neck, back to his face. Okay, someone he definitely likes.

“How do you know I’m gonna stay long enough to call you?” Hanbin blurts, realizing the silence has gone on too long.

Jiwon purses his lips thoughtfully, not looking away from Hanbin for one second. “I’m assuming your Captain isn’t a complete asshole, and will extend the docking period into a standard 14 day leave after seeing the state you’re in.”

Hanbin considers it, taking into account how fair Captain Do is. It would be logical, considering this is the crew’s first instance of leave in three and half years longer than a couple of days. That’s a long time to be on a ship, even the illustrious KRR Lumi.

“You might be right.” Hanbin says. “But I don’t even know anything about you. I mean, except for the fact that you’re a bit brilliant. Why would I call you?”

Jiwon holds his chest in faux offense, gasping dramatically. “Jeez, you really know how to talk to someone, huh?” He laughs, dropping the ruse. “At least you think I’m smart.”

Hanbin’s blush intensifies as he splutters, waving his hands frantically. “I didn’t mean it like that! I’m—“

Jiwon laughs. “I know. It’s just so easy to get you riled up. It’s fun.”

Hanbin grumbles, narrowing his eyes. “I’m definitely not calling you now.” He says.

“Then I’ll call you.” Jiwon replies, patting Hanbin’s ankle once before taking his hand back.

  
Hanbin immediately misses the warm of his touch. He yearns for it. He _really_ needs sleep. He barely even knows this guy. What’s his problem? Jiwon stands up, reaching a hand down to help Hanbin do the same. Hanbin accepts his help, letting Jiwon pull him up. The other man is stronger than his wiry frame makes his seem, pulling Hanbin up from the ground and making him collide with his chest. Hanbin just barely catches himself, as tired as he is, anchoring himself in Jiwon’s arms. He looks up, realizing their faces are mere inches apart. Hanbin freezes, eyes wide and alarm bells ringing in his head. He’s way too sleep-deprived for this.

Jiwon eyes fall to Hanbin’s lips, lingering there before he meets his gaze once again. “Maybe we should kiss to break the tension.” Jiwon whispers.

Hanbin’s fried brain actually considers it, finally looking down at Jiwon’s plush lips like he’s wanted to this entire time. His sense catches up to him before he can look for too long. He abruptly steps out of the engineer’s arms, straightening his uniform and looking around. Hanbin clears his throat, running a hand through his hair and trying his best to avoid Jiwon’s eyes.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Hanbin says belatedly, hands clasped tightly behind his back.

Jiwon laughs to himself, shaking his head as he moves back toward the phaser banks to retrieve his toolbox, the box rattling as he picks it up and walks back to Hanbin.

“First of all, kissing is always a good idea.” Jiwon says, matter-of-factly. Hanbin scoffs, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “But you need sleep.” Hanbin looks up at that, meeting Jiwon’s gentle gaze and his lazy grin. “I want you at one hundred percent. Nothing less.”

Hanbin narrows his eyes at the other man. “What does that even mean? Why do you need me at one hundred percent? For what?”

Jiwon’s mouth turns down a little, like he’s trying his best not to laugh. “To get to know you, obviously. What were you thinking?”

For what seems like the thousandth time in the last hour, Hanbin feels his face get hot. His thoughts were admittedly verging into mature territory. It’s because he’s tired, okay. That’s the only reason. “I...” Hanbin presses his mouth into a straight line, embarrassed. “Don’t know what I was thinking. Like you said, I need sleep.”

Jiwon nods, reaching out to pat Hanbin on the shoulder. Hanbin only narrowly resists the overwhelming desire to look at Jiwon’s hand against his uniform, on his body. He channels all of his energy into keeping his gaze on the other’s, not letting his eyes slip.

“I’ll leave you to it, Officer Kim.” Jiwon says, using his title as if he hasn’t been speaking casually to him this entire time. Not that Hanbin minds either way, at least not with Jiwon. “Call me when you’re ready.” He pats Hanbin’s shoulder, letting his hand linger before walking away.

Once again, Hanbin yearns for the warmth of Jiwon’s touch.

“I’ll look you up.” Hanbin says to Jiwon’s back, to which he receives a casual salute as the man leaves.

As soon as Jiwon clears the doorway, Hanbin feels his exhaustion rush back in tenfold. Right now, he needs sleep. After that, he’ll call that punk engineer. Maybe. Probably.

Okay, most definitely. First, he has to get up the strength to find the captain and tell him about the freak flaw in every E class starship in the fleet. Great. That should go over well. Hanbin takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and leaves the phaser bank behind. One foot in front of the other. He can make it.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading my blushy hanbin and grease-covered bobert u can find my on twt @/fullsunbot if u wish


End file.
